1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to swimming pools and, more particularly, to portable goals for use in water polo and other swimming pool-based activities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Water polo is a swimming game that is in many ways similar to soccer, football, basketball, and hockey. The game is played in a swimming pool by two seven person teams. The object of the game is to maneuver a buoyant ball using one""s head, feet, and hands (albeit one hand at a time) into the appropriate one of two goals located at the opposite ends of the pool. The goals extend upwardly from the water line and typically include a pair of horizontally spaced vertically extending goal posts and a crossbar extending from the top of one goal post to the top of the other. The goals also include nets that capture the ball after it passes through the goals. A regulation water polo goal is 3 m wide (about 10 feet ), 90 cm high (about 35 inches) measured from the water line to the crossbar and 30 cm deep (about 12 inches). Like soccer and hockey, goalies are positioned in front of the goals.
The water polo ball typically weighs between 400-450 g (about one pound) and can be shot at the goal at speeds approaching 40 miles per hour. In addition to directing shots straight through the goal, players will often attempt to carom the ball off one of the goal posts or the crossbar in order to avoid the goalie while, at the same time, directing the ball through the goal posts into the net. These shots, which are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cbar ins,xe2x80x9d necessitate that the goal posts, crossbar and underlying support structure be rigid in and of themselves and the manner in which they are held in place. Failure to provide a sufficiently rigid structure will result in deflection of the goalposts and crossbar and/or movement of the entire goal when struck by the ball. This is, of course, undesirable because bending and movement of the goalposts or crossbar will alter the trajectory of the ball and movement of the goal itself requires play to be stopped so that the goal can be repositioned.
One type of conventional water polo goal is the so-called xe2x80x9cdeck goal,xe2x80x9d which is fixedly mounted on the edge of the swimming pool deck such that the goalposts are positioned beyond the edge of the deck and extend downwardly to the water line. The deck goal typically includes a rigid metal support structure with a pair of downwardly extending support posts. The support posts mate with the holes that must be drilled into the pool deck. Another conventional water polo goal is the so-called xe2x80x9cfloating goal.xe2x80x9d A floating goal includes a floating support system that positions a suitably sturdy water polo goal on the water surface. An anchor system is required to hold the floating goal in place.
Although the goals in a regulation swimming pool in which the official games are played are typically fixed in place at opposite ends of the pool, there are many reasons to move a water polo goal. It can, for example, be desirable to move the goal around, or add additional goals to, a regulation swimming pool for practice purposes. Water polo players also desire to play and practice their sport in pools other than regulation swimming pools. Backyard swimming pools and club pools are frequent choices. Conventional deck goals, however, are not well suited for movement around a regulation swimming pool because each new location requires a new set of holes. Similarly, deck goals are not well suited for use in backyard or club swimming pools because holes must be drilled into the deck, which is expensive and unsightly. Turning to floating goals, not only are they prohibitively expensive for backyard and club swimming pool use, they are also so big that they occupy an unacceptably large portion of many pools.
More recently, the introduction of portable water polo goals, which may be used in conjunction with any swimming pool, has enabled the movement of goals and has allowed water polo players to enjoy their sport in backyard and club pools. Conventional portable water polo goals consist essentially of a goalpost, crossbar and support arrangement that is designed to be positioned on top of the pool deck adjacent to the pool edge. Such goals also include a ballast device for holding the goal in place. One such portable goal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,053 to Barns, Jr.
The inventors herein have determined that although they are useful, conventional portable water polo goals suffer from a number of shortcomings. For example, the inventors herein have determined that the portable goals introduced heretofore are not designed to extend to the water line. As a result, low flying shots on goal, which would have resulted in the ball striking the goal post of a deck goal or floating goal, instead strike the portion of the pool wall between the waterline and deck surface. This makes it difficult to determine whether a goal was scored by low flying shots near the goal posts. It also prevents low flying xe2x80x9cbar inxe2x80x9d shots that deflect off of the goal posts. The inventors herein have also determined that conventional portable goals tend to deflect and/or move when struck by balls traveling at a high speeds. Such deflection and movement is unacceptable because, as noted above, shots will not properly carom off the goal posts or crossbar and, when the goal moves, play must be stopped to reorient the goal.
Accordingly, the general object of the present invention is to provide a portable swimming pool-based athletic goal that solves, for practical purposes, the aforementioned problems in the art. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable water polo goal is configured such that shots cannot pass between the bottom of the goal posts and the waterline. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a portable athletic goal that will not move an appreciable distance when struck by a ball or other flying object. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rigid structure that will resist the bending forces associated attendant to being struck by a ball or other flying object.
In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, an apparatus for use with a swimming pool in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an athletic goal, a ballast device, and a support assembly operably connecting the athletic goal to the ballast device such that bottom portion of the goal will be below the ballast device when the ballast device is on the top surface of the deck and the athletic goal is within the interior of the swimming pool.
In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, an apparatus for use with a swimming pool in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an athletic goal, a ballast device, and a support assembly operably connecting the athletic goal to the ballast device and adapted to engage both the top surface and the edge of the pool deck.
In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, an apparatus for use with a swimming pool in accordance with still another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an athletic goal, a ballast device, a support assembly operably connecting the athletic goal to the ballast device, and a tension device adapted to apply tension to at least a portion of the athletic goal to urge the athletic goal against a portion of the support assembly.
The present invention provides a number of advantages over conventional portable swimming pool-based goals. For example, an embodiment of the present invention including a goal that is supported such that the bottom portion of the goal is below the ballast device may be configured such that the bottom portion of the goal will be at or near the waterline of the associated pool. As a result, low flying shots that would fly under the goal posts of a conventional portable water polo goal and strike the pool wall between the waterline and deck surface will instead strike the goal posts of this embodiment of the present invention. An embodiment of the present invention which includes a support assembly that engages both the top surface and the edge of the deck will be less like to move back away from the edge when struck by a ball, as compared to a conventional portable water polo goal. An embodiment of the present invention which includes a tension device adapted to apply tension to the athletic goal to urge the athletic goal against a portion of the support assembly will result in an overall structure that is rigid an unlikely to deflect when struck by a water polo ball.
The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.